Toward the end of my two-week stint in Istanbul (which would be just about the perfect city if everyone spoke French), I was walking in Sultanahmet on a sidewalk by the sea. On one side of the sidewalk is a highway, on the other side (with a drop of a couple feet) is a short shore of boulders from which old men sometimes fish and where families sometimes have picnics.
As I walked, a man sitting on the rocks called out to me. He invited me to join his group, and I did. They were all nicely dressed and in their twenties. The guy who called to me (who was Turkish) talked to me in okay English while the other two (a Cypriot and his Russian girlfriend) talked to each other in a language I didn’t understand, sometimes chiming in in English to me. They were drinking beer and offered one to me. The conversation was pretty dull–he kept on saying, “Tomorrow it’s work again, but today I can enjoy myself. Drinking beer, sitting at the ocean, talking to people we meet,” and things along those lines. I stuck it out since I was talking to a local, which is part of what traveling is all about (I wasn’t particularly scintillating either, to be fair). They offered me hash, but I declined (obviously).
After a while the guy said, “Hey, we’re going to go to Taksim Square [the main bar/club district in Istanbul] and smoke hookah. Join us!” Though I imagine that it’s going to be really dull, I agree, just because I don’t want to be the guy who spent his time in Istanbul declining social invitations extended by friendly locals.
So we get into a taxi, go to Taksim Square, and go into this really seedy hole-in-the-wall labeled “DISKOBAR” or something. It’s a dark, tiny club with terrible remixes playing. We sit at a booth (one of the two). The Turk tells me to sit in the middle, but somehow I end up on the edge seat. Under the shoddy pretext that he wants to put his arm up on the booth’s backrest without making me uncomfortable, he then insists on switching places with me, and I end up in the middle. They ask me what I want to drink–I wasn’t planning to drink, but to be game I say beer.
Suddenly two women appear. They put out their hand to all four of us in turn, and we shake. One sits next to me, the other next to the Turk. My new companion introduces herself to me and asks, “May I drink something?”
By this time I’m pretty sure what’s going on. I’d in fact read the wikitravel warning about it just a few days earlier, reproduced here in its entirety (feel free to skim/skip it):
Taksim bar/club scams
Tourists must be aware of high-drink prices scams encountered in so-called night-clubs mostly located in Aksaray, Beyazit and Taksim areas. These clubs usually charge overpriced bills, based on a replica of the original menu, or simply on the menu that had been standing upside down on the table.
Also be aware of friendly behaving groups of young men or male-female couples striking up a conversation in the street and inviting you to a “good nightclub they know”. This has frequently been reported as a prelude to such a scam. The person(s) in on the scam may offer to take you to dinner first, in order to lower your suspicions. Another way they will try to lure you in is by talking to you in Turkish, and when you mumble back in your language they will be surprised you’re not Turkish and immediately will feel the urge to repay you for their accident with a beer.
In either of these scams, if you refuse to pay the high prices or try to call the police (dial #155) to file a complaint, the club managers may use physical intimidation to bring the impasse to a close.
A recently encountered variant of this involved an invitation in Taksim to two male tourists (separately, within an hour of one another) to buy them beer (as they were “guests”). At the club, two attractive ladies, also with beers, joined them. When the time came for the bill, the person inviting the tourist denied having said he would pay for the drinks, and a bill was presented for 1500 Lira; when the tourists in question expressed an inability to pay such a high amount, burly “security” personnel emerged, who the manager explained would accompany the tourist to an ATM machine (presumably to clean out their bank account). In one of the above examples, the tourist escaped by shouting for the police once on the street; in the other, a much lower amount was accepted from the tourist.
Another recent incident occurred at a bar/club named SIA, located near the intersection of Acara and Istiklal Streets. 3 tourists were approached by 2 men, asking them to go for “drinks together”. The tourists were led by the men into the club named SIA (these three letters appear in silver beside the club’s entrance), and ordered drinks. Later, some ladies working for the club joined the group and ordered drinks, which the club put on the tabs of the 3 tourists. Overall, they were cheated of over 600 Lira. The original bill was much higher, and the tourists suffered verbal and physical intimidation when they did not have enough money to pay up. Finally the people at the club gave up and let them go. Travelers should avoid the above-mentioned club, for their own safety.
All these point to these scams in Taksim becoming more serious, and the possible involvement of organized crime. Be careful. If you find yourself in a situation for any reason, do whatever they want you to do, pay the bill, buy the things they are forcing you to buy, etc. Try to get out of situation as soon as possible, go to a safe place and call the police (dial #155).
That said, sometimes there is a chance to run, such as a case in August, 2009, when a man was able to escape. His sudden leave may have caught the waiters off guard; in all hastiness they forget to put someone at the door, thus leaving an opening.
I said yes to the escort’s request, since I realize that a no would be totally unacceptable. I was incredibly (and quite obviously) nervous, thinking ways out of this, and meanwhile the escort kept toasting me (maybe five times) and trying to strike up conversation. The closest we had to a conversation was her asking me where I am from, me answering, and then asking her where she is from. She said, “Turkey,” in a strong Eastern European accent, and I go silent, looking around like a scared rabbit. (One serious social flaw I need to work on: the inability to hide when I’m uncomfortable in social situations).
By the time I finished one beer each of the escorts had drunk two tiny bottles of champagne. As I finish I say something like, “Hey guys, I think I’m going to go as soon as I finish this beer.” Suddenly everyone gets really cold, and the Turk says, “Well, okay. Let’s just split the bill and you can go.” He opens the menu that was on the table and says, “Oh, look–it seems your friend’s drinks were 240 TL each [~$150]”
So the bill comes. It’s the equivalent of $800. They show me my share. About $350.
I know that you are thinking: That Alex is a real numbskull. I would have spotted such a scam from miles away! How could he have been so blind? I wonder what he looks like in a swimsuit. Most of the people I’ve told about this seem to think that they would have smelled it a thousand miles away. In my defense, by the time it was clearly a scam there was no smooth way out of it (barring, what, screaming “I’m leaving right now!” as the escort sat down? That itself could have been dangerous). Also, the weird vibes I got from the very beginning I chocked up to my indifference to meeting new people/a mundane social unease. It’s not like I’m totally dense. Plus I think I handled it pretty well in the end.
As soon as they show me the bill, I start feeling out a way to get out of the club (as literally everyone in the club was in on the scam, and I didn’t anticipate being able to just run out). I was kind of evasive about the types of credit cards I had until I ascertained that they didn’t have a credit card machine. Then I acted like I didn’t understand them and said that, while I didn’t have cash, I could easily pay with my card (I asked if the credit machine was a the bar). Also, throughout the entirety of it (after the bill came), I acted mildly put-out but overall submissive. I figured bellowing “I WILL NOT PAY ONE RED CENT” wouldn’t do me any favors, while acting too happy about it all would seem suspicious.
I said I was going to use the restroom. I locked myself in and put my cards and ID in my sock. I had 30 lira in cash on me (~$20), and I left it in my wallet as not to seem too suspicious. The kitchen area was being guarded by a guy, so I couldn’t bolt through there.
So I went back up, told them that all I had was 20 lira (that’s how stingy I am: I wasn’t willing to part with the extra $7, in case they wanted it up front). I said that they should let me go to the ATM to withdraw some money. The guy acted annoyed and got a big thug to escort me to the ATM outside.
I was afraid he’d lead me to an alley or something, but instead we walked up a street toward the main pedestrian road, which was really crowded. I tried to scout for the best place to bolt without looking too obvious about it, and then I did (bolt, that is), as the thug crossed ahead of me in the opposite direction. He said something that sounds like “Oh shh–,” and I was gone. I dodged around people and nearly mowed this woman over. I don’t know if he followed me, or for how long, as I didn’t look back until much later. I sprinted until I couldn’t sprint anymore than then just jogged. Luckily I knew the general direction to my hostel, and it was all downhill.
So I got off scot free–I even got two beers out of the ordeal (HUSTLA TIL THE DAY I DIE YALL). Apparently another guy in my hostel got the same scam two days later, and they cleared him out $300 or so. Seriously, stinginess is my superpower. Though I feel bad gloating too much, as the real victims (obviously) are the two escorts.
Came to my senses & I chilled for a bit 